Chapter 10

Aggression and Antisocial Behavior

© 2014 Wadsworth Cengage Learning

Aggressive instincts can be modified so that even cats and rats can live together peacefully.

Chapter Topics

Defining Aggression and Antisocial Behavior

Why do People Behave Aggressively?

Inner Causes of Aggression

Interpersonal Causes of Aggression

External Causes of Aggression

Self and Culture

Other Antisocial Behavior

Debate: Rwanda and Its Fallout

Consider the case of the Rwandan genocide in the 1990s Who was to blame for the genocide? Why?

Are people essentially violent or peace-seeking? Offer examples from Rwanda to support your

position

Defining Aggression and Antisocial Behavior How do social psychologists define aggression

differently than most lay people?

Aggression – any behavior intended to harm another person who does not want to be harmed.

Antisocial behavior – behavior that damages interpersonal relationships or is culturally undesirable. What is displaced aggression? What’s the difference between direct and indirect

forms of aggression? What’s the difference between proactive and

reactive aggression? How do psychologists define violence? Violence – aggression that has its goal extreme

physical harm, such as injury or death.

Is the World More or Less Violent Now Than in the Past?

If modern weapons kill more people than ancient ones, how are we less violent now than in the past?

Overall time the planet is actually becoming more peaceful place to live.

How have human beliefs (e.g., the Age of Reason, anti-slavery, etc.) changed the incidence of violence in the world?

How has culture suppressed violence over time?

Is Aggression Innate or Learned?

How have different forms of government tried to “solve” aggression? Why have they not succeeded in getting rid of

aggression?

Instinct Theories of Aggression

How can aggression be seen as an evolutionary trait? What purpose would it serve in propagating the species?

Freud proposed that human motivational forces are based on instinct Sex – life giving instinct – Eros Aggression – death instinct – Thanatos

Learning Theories of Aggression

How can aggression be seen as a learned trait? How does modeling increase aggression?

How does Bandura’s Bobo doll study show the power of modeling aggression?

Nature and Nurture

How can cultural socialization and learning increase or decrease innate aggressive impulses and aggressive behaviors? How does football illustrate learned behaviors

with regards to aggression?

How are both learning and instinct relevant? Do we learn aggression? Are we innately peaceful?

Inner Causes of Aggression

What is frustration-aggression hypothesis?

How can this hypothesis explain aggression?

Consider a time when you acted aggressively Was frustration a factor? What was the precipitating event?

Inner Causes of Aggression (cont’d.)

What affect do negative moods have on aggression? Why do unpleasant moods increase aggression? Why do angry people become aggressive?

What circumstances would discourage them from becoming aggressive?

How can excitation transfer increase aggression?

Hostile Cognitive Biases

Hostile attribution bias: perceive ambiguous actions by others as aggressive

Hostile perception bias: perceive social interactions as being aggressive

Hostile expectation bias: assume people will react to potential conflicts with aggression

Hostile Cognitive Biases (cont’d.)

Aggressive people have inner biases that make them Expect others to react aggressively View ambiguous acts as aggressive Assume others act purposefully when they hurt or

offend them

Age and Aggression

How are toddlers more aggressive than any other age? Why aren’t they perpetrators of violent crimes,

if they are so aggressive?

Which age group is most violent?

Gender and Aggression

How do men and women deal with stress differently? Examples: fight or flight syndrome; tend and

befriend syndrome

What is relational aggression? Which gender is more likely to engage in relational aggression? How is bullying different from other forms of

aggression?

Selfishness and Influence

How can aggression be a means to resolve social disputes?

How can aggression be a form of social influence?

When do people resort to aggression to get what they want?

The Social Side of Sex: Sexual Aggression

People use aggression and force to get sex from others

Sexual coercion is often defined broadly

Consequences for victim are dependent on definition of rape

Profile of sexually coercive men differs from traditional stereotypes

Domestic and Relationship Violence

What is domestic violence?

Surgeon General declared domestic violence the number one health risk in U.S. Who is most at risk for domestic violence?

What factors contribute to domestic violence?

External Causes of Aggression

What is the weapons effect?

How does the media influence aggression? What happens to aggression levels when men watch

videos of rape?

What unpleasant environmental situations increase aggression? What effect will global warming likely have on

aggression?

External Causes of Aggression (cont’d.)

What chemicals or substances are associated with higher aggression, and how do they operate? Examples: testosterone, serotonin, alcohol What other drugs and chemicals are linked with

aggression?

Which chemicals have causal links with aggression? Which have significant correlations?

Food for Thought

Is there a link between diet and violence? Nutrition is linked to aggression and violence

Junk food can increase violence Vitamin supplements reduces antisocial

behavior How could legislators use this information to

reduce violence in the United States?

Self and Culture

What does the Malay tradition of running amok reveal about the influence of culture on aggression?

How does poor self-control and wounded pride affect aggression? Why is narcissism related to aggression? What role does provocation play in aggression?

Culture of Honor

What is a “culture of honor?”

How does the culture of honor in the southern United States influence levels of violence? How is risk-taking linked to ideas of honor?

What causes the increased violence in cultures of honor? What role do culture of honor values play in

terrorism?

Other Antisocial Behavior

Lying In what situations do most people lie? How can you detect liars?

Taboo words Who uses taboo words? Why do people use taboo words?

Other Antisocial Behavior (cont’d.)

Cheating Who cheats? What are some ways to reduce cheating?

Stealing Under what circumstances are people most likely

to steal?

Other Antisocial Behavior (cont’d.)

Types of norms Injunctive norms: specify what most approve or

disapprove of Descriptive norms: specify what most people do

Littering Which type of norm is most effective at reducing

littering? What is Broken Windows Theory? How does it relate to

littering?

What Makes Us Human?

Human culture has created unique tools for aggression What tools have humans created for aggression? What categories of aggression are unique to

humans?

Human culture attempts to restrain aggression Which cultural restraints on aggression work

best?

Discussion: Antisocial Behavior

What types of antisocial behaviors are most prevalent? Which ones are most harmful? Why?

Think about a time when you engaged in an antisocial behavior (lying, stealing, cheating, violence, etc.). What do you believe was the cause of that behavior?

Conclusion

Humans engage in antisocial behaviors, including aggression

Aggression has many causes and influences

Antisocial behaviors, including aggression, are often a result of several personal and environmental factors